Always find your way back home
by RachelLawson
Summary: Season 5, Episode 10. Eddie returns to save his damsel. The reunion we all deserve.


Max continued to spit his vicious words against Rachel, who looked on in disgust as she tried to think of how to defend herself. But, she couldn't. Max was right, she was worthless. She did sell her body for money, she was alone.

"That's enough Max, sling it." The words were spoken from someone that Rachel never thought she'd hear from again. She spun to face him, wonder in her eyes at the sight of her love in front of her. Her Eddie, once again defending her honour.

"Who's this Rachel? Another happy customer?" She felt her cheek deepen in colour, hanging her head as she felt the tears start to form. She hated how he used her past against her, hated that she was too weak to fight back. What she hated the most was that Max could use Eddie against her also.

"Piss off." Rachel's head whipped up when she heard the contact of skin on skin, catching Max flying to the ground and holding his face. She didn't give him a second thought, jumping to her feet and taking hold of Eddie's hand. His knuckles had started to swell, and she held it between her hands as she guided him over to the bar.

"I think it's time you went home Max." She heard Chris comment, but her attention was completely focused elsewhere as she asked the staff for some ice. She finally looked up and caught Eddie's eyes, who was already looking straight at her.

"Do you make a habit out of punching damsels in distress? Me in particular." She commented lightly, her smile inevitable as she finally found herself in his company again. She accepted the bag of ice and winced on behalf of him as she placed it on his knuckles.

"Only when I fancy the damsel." He replied cheekily, lifting his brows comically but hoping that Rachel saw the sincerity in his eyes. She did, and reached out to cup his cheek.

"How did you know?" She had so many questions to ask, so much to catch up on. But she decided to start with the least heavy of the ones that were swimming around in her mind.

"Kim. She called me after she found some things out, said you were too stubborn to admit it but you needed me." Rachel was surprised that they had managed to put their differences aside, grateful that they did it for her.

"I've needed you since the day I said goodbye." She spoke softly, breaking their eye contact to focus on the floor. She was ashamed, admitting something she wanted that she knew wasn't possible.

"He's not mine." Eddie stated, causing Rachel to shake her head with confusion. "The baby, Jake. There was a DNA test and Melissa had a fling." He continued, shrugging his shoulders. He'd come to terms with the fact that the child wasn't his, and had spent the past weeks working out how to face Rachel again.

"Oh Eddie, I'm so sorry." Rachel felt her heart break for him, knowing that he so desperately needed this chance to give another child the start in life he so desperately had wanted for Michael.

"Don't be. I could hardly comment when I spent the entire relationship in love with another woman." Eddie admitted honestly, having finally come to terms with his feelings in the months they were forced to spend apart.

Rachel went to reply, but felt a hand touch her back and turned to find Chris. She smiled warmly at him, turning back to introduce him to Eddie and smirking at the obvious look of jealously that was gracing his face at the contact.

"Chris Mead, Deputy head. Nice punch." Chris commented, still gleeful he could witness the brilliant right-hook that Eddie had planted on Max.

"Eddie Lawson, previous Deputy." Rachel could tell by the look on Chris's face that Eddie was gripping his hand as they shook, and she bit her lip to stop herself laughing.

"You're Eddie? As in, the Eddie? I'm glad you came back for her, it might stop her moping." Eddie looked over at Rachel who once against flushed a deep red, avoiding eye contact as Eddie wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"I never should of left, I never wanted to." He felt the need to defend his actions, unsure with how much she had told as he felt her relax against his side.

"I don't know much mate, only from Steph. But she's smiled more in the last 10 minutes than she has in 3 months. Just... don't take my job." Chris joked, giving Rachel a warm smile as he accepted his drink from the bar staff. He was jealous at first, wishing he could be the one to come to Rachel's defence. But seeing her smile now, he knew she could never look at him in the same way. He left the two alone and Rachel looked up at Eddie, one brow raised at his reaction.

"What? I thought you'd traded me in for a younger model." He tried to joke, but Rachel's face turned cloudy. She backed away from his touch as if it had burned her, slamming her glass of wine down on the bar in front of them.

"Every time that man walked into my office, I hoped it was you. Every time the phone rang, I waited to hear your voice. Every decision, I waited for your input, knowing that we had the same views and wanted the same things. Every classroom, every hallway, even your bloody car park space was like a knife in the heart each time I was faced with it." She rambled on, finally letting out the pain she had felt building inside of her since the day they had said goodbye. A lone tear slid down her cheek, and Eddie reached out to swipe it away with his thumb.

"I've missed you, more than I could ever put into words. It was a messed-up situation, and waking up without you every day destroyed me. Unless it was about the baby, me and Melissa didn't speak. I was lonely, but I knew I had to let you go. If I'd have known about any of this sooner... Rachael, I meant what I said. You were, are and always will be my first priority." He cupped her face between his hands, ignoring the pain in his knuckles as he finally held her eye contact. Having her so close to him and being able to reach for her was everything he had dreamed of. The pain of losing a baby that wasn't his simply melted away, like his world had finally tilted and all was right again.

"We missed so much time, did so many things wrong. Can we get it right this time?" Filled with self-doubt, Rachel let her fears consume her once more. She had never felt good enough, always up the one on the outside looking in. She wasn't the type for the fairy tale love story, true love didn't exist for girls like her. She thought it did, back when she allowed herself to think of a future with Eddie. But her dreams came crashing down along with the front of her school, and her heart wasn't as easy to repair than a few bricks and broken windows.

"I can't promise you that it'll be easy. But I don't want to give up on us again, on what we could have. I love you, Rachel." The three key words had only been spoken once before between the pair, and Rachel felt her heart beat wildly in her chest. She could barely hear herself think, never mind process his words enough to think of an acceptable response. So, she did what she had longed to do in the months since she had lost him. She leant forward and pressed her lips to his, pushing her hands into his hair again and feeling her entire body return home. Their lips moved in sync, Eddie's hands settling around her waist and bringing her closer to him.

When the need for air became too much, Eddie pulled back and rested his forehead against hers, his grin a permanent fixture on his face.

"In case you didn't get it from that, I love you too." Unable to stop herself any longer, she let out a joyous laugh and leant in for another kiss. She didn't know what the future held, no clue about their jobs or houses. But none of that mattered, because she was finally back where she belonged. She was home.


End file.
